Pray it Off 02/24/11 How the Serenity Prayer Can Help Me Lose Weight

Most Successful Diet - How the Serenity Prayer Can Help Me To Lose Weight
By William Brogan

When a person is overweight and they begin to search for the most successful diet on the market that will help them shed the pounds, they often focus too much attention on the diet itself and do not examine the things in their life that are causing them to overeat. One way to do such an examination is use the Serenity Prayer to evaluate your life.

The Serenity Prayer was written by Reinhold Niebuhr in a sermon he delivered in 1934. Many of us are familiar with the opening part of the prayer
which goes: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference." I will be using the extended version to show you why using this prayer can help you adopt the most successful diet ever.

The first part of his prayer makes a lot of sense and will be the easiest part for you to adopt. There are simply things that happen in life that you have no control over. You simply have to deal with those uncontrolled events in life such as a sickness or illness of a family member or friend.

Let's now look at the rest of the prayer line by line to see how it might help us:

"Patience for the things that take time." You must realize that you did not gain the weight overnight and it may take months, even years for you to reach our idea weight. You must all learn to be patient and look for the stress triggers in our lives that cause us to overeat.

"Appreciation for all that we have." In our overly materialistic world, many of us focus our intentions in getting new things and we forget to be satisfied with what we already have. If you are simply more thankful and grateful for what you have, you can focus more attention on exercise and improving your eating habits.

"Tolerance for those with different struggles." Too often, all of us get overly impatient with other people as they struggle with the different oddities in life. The best approach is for us to accept others for what they are even if it appears to be strange for us.

"Freedom to live beyond the limitations of our past ways." We all the freedom to think like a thin person. As soon as you decide to lose the weight, you have a choice to either adopt a whole new lifestyle or keep eating in the way that caused us to gain the pounds. The choice is yours.

"Ability to feel your love for us and our love for each other." Although you may have gained many pounds, this does not mean that God does not love you or that others look at you with disdain. You must love yourself regardless and also allow God to love you. You must also begin to love others and allow them to love you.

"Strength to get up and try again even when we feel it is hopeless."

Please realize that no matter how much you are overweight, the most successful diet can be started today. It is never too late.

Serenity: Antidote to stress*

What is it that all individuals desire? It is not stress mangement; it is really something that our hearts and minds desire. It is balance and peace of mind, which we call serenity. Serenity is the opposite of stress. Scientific evidence in the field of medicine demonstrates how crucial serenity is to our health and longevity. There are enormous sociological. psychological and physical costs associated with chronic stress including depression, anxiety disorders, insomnia, obesity, alcoholism, hypertension, and all other lifestyle diseases (e.g., heart disease and cancer)

Serenity opens up ion channels at the receptor sites and we now know through scientific studies that we facilitate healing when we experience serenity. The blood pressure and pulse go down, the immune system gets a boost and the aging process is slowed down.
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Laughter: The Health Benefits of Laughter

We humans, in contrast to animals, have the distinct choice to elicit laughter instead of fight-or-flight response. Laughter has profound effects on your mental and physical state of being. The secret of laughter is that our bodies are hardwired with some powerful natural reactions to extended laugher.

These include:

• Every cell in our bodies is fully oxygenated leaving us bursting with energy. Circulation improves. The lymphatic system is massaged.
• Blood pressure and pulse rate drop and circulation improves.
• Depression and anxiety are lifted, chronic depression is often cured, even chronic disease can heal.
•Great mood and reduction of aches and pain due to high level of endorphins.
•Immune, digestive and sexual systems that are switched off in sympathetic overdrive are balanced through stimulation of the Vagus nerve.
• Communication is enhanced and self-confidence is boosted.
• Stress is processed well and neutralized. We become more stress hardy and resistant to disease.

Practice laughter regularly and you change your entire mental and physical state for the better. Laughter accelerates healing and many small health problems (colds and flus disappear). You feel good, stay healthy and well and happy.
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Breathing: Life is in the breath

Your health is your first line of defense in stress processing and neutralization and can create almost instant calm.
Breath is a doorway to balance the autonomic nervous system and is a connection between conscious and subconscious mind. Your breath is the home base for your wandering mind. The very best way to clear and calm the mind is to put your attention on your breath.

Breath work is a simple technique to correct health problems and improve wellbeing. Breath work is simple, free and under your nose. You can raise the energy of the nervous system through the breath.

When you have your attention on your breath, it is in a safe place. It is like putting your consciousness in neutral. It is not possible to stop thinking or stop the flow of images into the mind’s eye. But you can learn to divert your attention from those, and the safest place to put your attention is your breath, simply observe the breath. You can do it any time, it is like taking a little break from the normal flow of thoughts, flow of images and putting your mind briefly in a neutral place – your breath.
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Chi Gong: Conscious breathing and mindful moving

Chi Gong is over 5,000 years old, the “grandfather” of Thai Chi, feng shui, acupuncture, martial arts, healing massage, nutrition, herbology, and sexology in China. In China, the various methods of Chi Gong form the nucleus of a national self-care system of health maintenance and personal development.

The common thread holding all types of Chi Gong together:

• The first key is the “breath”. Every form of Chi Gong has great emphasis on deep diaphragmatic breathing. Intentional breathing will supply the body with more oxygen – the fuel needed to repair and maintain health.

• The second key is slow, gentle, circular movement and stretching. When deep breathing is combined with a slow, mindful movement, the body builds more energy rather than depleting energy which happens with strenuous exercise. When the body moves with the breath, many people feel the sense of calm and harmony. This sensation helps to bring the body and mind into balance and contribute to our physical and mental healing.

Chi Gong combines movement, meditation, and breath regulation to enhance the flow of vital energy in the body, improve blood circulation, enhance immune function, provide resistance to disease, and increase resiliency to make you stress hardy.
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Health Walk: Health Benefits of Walking

1. Walking is great for the heart.
Walking for 30 minutes every day lowers your odds for
developing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors linked to higher risks of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

2. Walking is wonderful for keeping you slimmer.
Walking for 30 minutes a day can prevent weight gain in most people who are physically inactive.

3. Walking protects your bones.
Just 30 minutes of walking three times a week does wonders to prevent and treat thinning bones.

4. Walking staves off senior moments.
Regular strolls are also linked to mental sharpness in seniors. Walking is likely to help keep your mind active.

5. Walking helps you sleep.
Walking may boost levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin.

6. Walking makes you happy.
By helping the body produce endorphins, walking can relieve depression, anxiety and neutralize the effect of stress on your body.

* http://www.radiancehwb.com/workshops.html

Baked Haddock *

"Haddock (or other white fish) is lightly breaded and baked.
Parmesan adds a nice flavor. Quick and easy to prepare, it's a nice alternative to deep frying."
Prep Time:10 Min Cook Time: 15 Min Ready In: 25 Min

Servings

Original Recipe Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground dried thyme
• 4 haddock fillets
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, combine the milk and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and thyme. Dip the haddock fillets in the milk, then press into the crumb mixture to coat. Place haddock fillets in a glass baking dish, and drizzle with melted butter.
3. Bake on the top rack of the preheated oven until the fish flakes easily, about 15 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 325 | Total Fat: 15.7g | Cholesterol: 103mg
* http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Haddock-2/Detail.aspx


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